Being among the first movers is typically an advantage when it comes to driving revenue and market share in competitive environments. Ericsson is looking to drive those first movers on its technology across the globe and has designed its latest enhancements to make it easier for carriers to deploy 5G at scale. The platform includes 5G access and transport products, cloud core and cloud communications running on cloud infrastructure, management and orchestration, and digital BSS and network services. It latest additions increase the platform’s flexibility to allow providers to enjoy a smooth transition.

Helping smooth the transition, Ericsson’s Cloud Core portfolio will support both 5G standalone and non-standalone networks, as well as previous technologies to create a seamless transition and continuity of legacy services. While the dual-mode Cloud Core is designed for 5G performance needs and includes open APIs to drive innovative use of 5G, including network slicing and edge computing, it also ensures maximum ROI on legacy investments.

“As we evolve our network to 5G, we need to simplify operations, reduce time to market for new functionalities, and open up our network for innovation,” says the Head of Swisscom’s 5G Program, Patrick Weibel.” “Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Cloud Core allows for the flexible evolution of our 4G Core network to a combined 4G and 5G network while maintaining cost efficiency. Adding to this, the evolved Ericsson Dynamic Orchestration solution bring us the automation of network slices required to reduce our provisioning time of services from weeks to hours.”

Ericsson is also enhancing the capacity of its microwave portfolio, including a new MINI-LINK 6200 family of 5G-ready longhaul solutions supporting up to 10Gbps, along with expanded router and fronthaul products to give providers choices to meet their individual needs. The expanded microwave product line will help drive improved 4G performance and 5G buildouts in rural areas.

Of course, the added speed and capacity will require new radios in new frequency bands. Ericsson is meeting that need with nine new dual band, triple band, and high-performance Massive MIMO radios, as well as a virtualized Radio Access Network (vRAN). The 5G vRAN delivers additional data flow processing and network architecture flexibility to accommodate capacity demands and revenue opportunities, while reducing providers’ own costs.

Last, but not least, Ericsson’s new Dynamic Orchestration solution increases the time to market of 5G services by automating network slicing to speed the creating, testing, and deployment of network slices. In addition, it leverages AI-driven closed-loop automation for hybrid and multi-vendor networks to enable real-time network adaptability for a heightened user experience.

“Ericsson’s latest product launches further facilitate the vendor’s goal of providing its customers with a smooth and efficient transition from 4G to 5G,” says Daryl Schoolar, Practice Leader, Service Provider Technology, at Ovum. “The evolved 5G Platform provides service providers with the tools to monetize upcoming 5G use cases.”

Web-scale Networking

The idea of Web-scale IT is more than just another 'hot' buzzword or problematic disruption. What started with data center operators has become mainstream thinking in large enterprises, and it's now driving changes in service provider operations, as well. Web-scale tools that allow application development to move quickly have also created some challenges for service provider networks.